News and analysis on politics, human rights and civil society in Latin America by Geoffrey Ramsey

Monday, May 5, 2014

Uruguay Fleshes Out its Marijuana Law

After repeated delays, on Friday the government of Uruguay finally released the accompanying
regulations of its marijuana law, a
major development in the establishment of the world’s first fully-regulated
cannabis market.

Following the press conference, held by
Presidential Under-Secretary Diego Canepa and Julio Calzada, secretary general
of the National Drug Council (JND), there was a flurry of reporting.
Local and international media picked up on their confirmation that the drug
would be sold at roughly $1 per
gram, their comments that “between two
and six” entities would be licensed to
grow the drug commercially, and that it would be available for recreational and
medicinal use in pharmacies in late November
or early December.

Interestingly, none of these details are
actually in the text of the
implementation guidelines that
President Jose Mujica will sign today, and have presumably been left up to the
Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), the law’s new
regulatory body. Incidentally, it was revealed on Friday that Calzada will
serve as the first IRCCA president, which is understandable considering how
active he has been in championing the law. UPDATE May 14:While this is in fact what Canepa said at the conference, the JND's representation in the IRCCA leadership will actually be

Augusto Vitale, a drug policy expert with the National Drug Secretariat.

Meanwhile, much of the actual content of
the document itself has gone unreported. This makes sense. After all, there is
plenty to sift through in the regulations, like their additional requirements
for the 15-45 member “cannabis clubs” (they must educate members on responsible
use) new distribution rules (commercial growers can store the drug on-site only,
and ship it directly to pharmacies) or further restrictions on purchases (10
grams per week, narrowed down from 40 grams per month in the law). Many of
these will only kick in when the first commercial marijuana becomes available
in late 2014.

But one of the most important elements in
the new rules will go into effect even before the drug becomes commercially
available. When the IRCCA registry is up and running a 180-day “amnesty period”
will begin, during which individuals who had previously grown their own pot
illegally will be allowed to register their plants with authorities. Under the
law, households may keep up to six plants, with a maximum yield of 480 grams
annually. So long as these conditions are met, Uruguayans will have six months
to register their currently clandestine crops. Afterwards, the IRCCA will only
accept applications seeking prior permission to grow cannabis, and unlicensed
growth will be subject to sanctions.

This is a major victory for alternative
drug policies, and fits with the overarching logic behind the marijuana law. As
Uruguayan civil society
advocates,Calzada and President
Mujica himself have all said: the
measure is about recognizing an existing social reality. Like it or not, there
is a market for the drug, which is mostly dominated by criminal and frequently
violent elements. By allowing people to come out and register their own plants
without fear of repercussion for the first time in the country’s history,
Uruguayan authorities are taking an important first step towards bringing the
black market into the light.

News Briefs

Yesterday’s election in Panama saw a major
blow to outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli, who was widely seen as
attempting to hold onto power through his chosen successor, Jose Domingo Arias. La Prensa notes that while polls in the lead-up to Sunday’s vote gave
Arias a slim advantage, he ultimately lost to Vice President Juan Carlos Varela
by seven percentage points (32 compared to Varela’s 39 percent). Juan Carlos
Navarro, of the center-left Democratic Revolutionary Party, came in third place
with 28 percent of the vote. As the AP reports, one of Varela’s central campaign promises has been to end the
corruption seen under Martinelli’s administration.

A standoff between Ecuadorean President
Rafael Correa and the indigenous community harboring
three opposition figures accused of defaming him appears to be heating up.
While the Sarayacu have called for a mediated dialogue over the situation, Correa
rejected this yesterday, saying there was “nothing to negotiate,” according to BBC
Mundo.

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan
Mendez’s visit to Mexico came to an end on Friday with the UN rights champion
holding a press conference to announce his preliminary findings. According to
Mendez, there continues to be evidence of torture
committed by all levels of security forces in
the country, labeling the practice “widespread.” EFE notes that Mendez said
torture was not deliberately
or systematically ordered by
authorities, but rather occurred during interrogations and following arrests of
suspects by military and police. Animal
Politico has a copy of Mendez’s full
statement, which outlines the reasoning behind his remarks.

Writing for the New Yorker’s News Desk blog, Patrick Radden Keefe also takes a look at torture in Mexico. For
his widely-circulated
account of the manhunt for Sinaloa
Cartel kingpin “El Chapo” Guzman, Keefe spoke with a former DEA agent who
directly linked the arrest with information obtained by allegedly torturing of
some of the cartel leader’s accomplices. This set off a debate over whether the
case amounted to a real-life case
of the “ticking time-bomb scenario,” in
which some claim that torture can be justified. However, Keefe argues against
characterizing the case this way, and points out that interrogation provided
only some of the intelligence that led to Guzman’s arrest.

El Faro’s Sala
Negra looks at prison violence in Honduras, where some of the worst mass
killings in the region’s history have taken place. The news site examines a
handful of the most recent incidents, noting the overcrowding and poor
conditions that are hallmarks of the country’s penal system.

Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores,
who is accused of embezzlement and illicit enrichment, has taken refuge in Panama,
where he has reportedly requested
political amnesty. Over the weekend, President Mauricio Funes formally called
on his Panamanian counterpart not
to grant the request.

The latest round of negotiations between
FARC rebels and the Colombian government ended on Sunday, with both sides
still unable to reach a draft agreement on drugs and drug trafficking, the
issue currently on the table. Still, the AFP
reports that the guerrillas say they are “close” to reaching a deal with
officials, and that rebel negotiators say they have also placed an emphasis on
combating money laundering as well. The next round will begin on May 12.

Progress appears to have been made in the
ongoing rural protests in Colombia, which echo
last year’s “agrarian strike” that took a toll on President Santos’ approval
ratings. According to Radio
Caracaol, the government has begun negotiating with the striking farmers.

On Friday, Venezuelan authorities announced
that 58 foreigners had been arrested in connection with the recent unrest
in the country, with Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres listing an
American, a Spaniard and an Arab among the “mercenaries” accused of inciting
violence. In other Venezuela news, officials are investigating the Sunday
murder of bodyguard of President Maduro, who was gunned down yesterday while
driving in Caracas, El
Universal reports.

Guatemala’s Plaza Publica profiles Thelma Aldana, who is believed to be President Otto Perez
Molina’s likely nomination for the next Attorney General. As the news site
points out, she is also suspected of having ties to the Guatemalan Republican
Front (FRG) party of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt.

About The Author

Geoff Ramsey works as a communications officer for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Before joining WOLA, Ramsey worked as a researcher for the Open Society Foundation’s Latin America Program. His most recent work involved monitoring civil society advocacy for and implementation of 2013 drug policy reforms in Uruguay, where he lived for nearly two years. Prior to that he spent two years living in Colombia and Brazil, where he researched and reported on regional insecurity issues for InSight Crime. Any views or opinions expressed in these posts are the sole responsibility of the author. Email: gramsey (at) thepanamericanpost (dot) com